My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century Blog Tour

We have the honor of hosting a fun YA read today, My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century Blog Tour, presented by Shane at Itching for Books. Read the blurb and our review then enter the contest but don't forget to add this to your Goodreads list.

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century
Author: Rachel Harris

Genre: YA historical fiction, time travel
Release: Sept. 11, 2012
Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Blurb: On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items,
Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore.

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian
forever?

Release date: September 11, 2012

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Purchase: Amazon | Book Depository

 

About the author: As a teen, Rachel Harris threw raging parties that shook her parents’ walls and created embarrassing fodder for future YA novels.

As an adult, she reads and writes obsessively, rehashes said embarrassing fodder, and dreams up characters who become her own grown up version of imaginary friends.

When she's not typing furiously or flipping pages in an enthralling romance, you can find her
homeschooling her two beautiful princesses, hanging out with her amazing husband, or taking a hot bubble bath…next to a pile of chocolate.

MY SUPER SWEET SIXTEENTH CENTURY is her debut novel. She did have her own fantabulous Sweet Sixteen in high school. Sadly, it wasn't televised.

http://www.rachelharriswrites.com | @RachelHarrisYA | facebook.com/RachelHarrisYA

Review: 
This is another title I knew instantly fell into my "Must Read" list and was I ever so happy to read this book and be part of a tour for it. From the opening scene with Cat aboard a plane with her dad and fake stepmom-to-be, I was sucked into this teen's world. When she enters the gypsy's  tent hours after landing in Italy for a trip of a lifetime, my reading speed increased as Cat tours famous places on her own, and when she finds herself transported back to Renaissance Italy, I simply could not put her story down. 

Fun, fun, fun! My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century is an incredible thrill-fest of a read! Author Rachel Harris has given YA readers a different story, one which combines so many elements of a contemporary story with drama, conflict, a search for identity, and friendship with the minute details, facts and feel of a historical piece. Combine everything together with a main character with a refreshingly funny point-of-view and way of speaking and readers will be amazed by their experience. I was.

Cat becomes Patience once she mysteriously lands in the past, dressed in a gorgeous gown and able to speak in the native language when she couldn't before (excluding easy words like "pizza" and "pasta"). Sent to live with her Uncle Marco and his wife who resembles Cat's own movie star mom, this time traveling teen spends time with her two cousins and meets Lorenzo, a hot artist she is wildly attracted to but deems a 'player'. 

I don't want to give away too much of this engrossing story but I have to mention how special My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century is. There are those "wow!" moments and then there are those smaller "aaah" moments and this book had plenty of those. I can still picture the meadow scene when Cat/Patience frolics with her cousins and Lorenzo and shows them how to stage an impromptu version of "Snow White." Her selfless way of wanting good things for her family members, especially her shy cousin Alessandra, was so touching and memorable. That's the one word to describe this book: memorable. Characters, description, plot, dialogue, the story had it all well done.

Cat's voice was uniquely hers with her witty banter, quick retorts and humorous way of looking at things. How can you not love a character who gives her cousins nicknames seconds after meeting them ("Cip" for Cipriano)? And thank you Ms. Harris for really showing us the things I want to see as a reader to fully enrich my time lost in your world. Speaking of little things, I was glad to see Cat worry about brushing her teeth and bathing (thankfully she had her backpack of modern day goodies) like a realistic girl would. I can't tell you the amount of times I've wondered how a character does simple things like this in some of the fantasies I read but they're never addressed.

A modern day teen finds herself back in Renaissance Italy--her favorite time period--and makes the most of a weird sci-fi situation into something more. Grab this book when it's released--it is that good!

Rating: 4.5

Cover comment: Spot on! And they included the backpack too. Love it!

Book source: I received an eARC in return for my honest review during a blog tour.

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway